tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72447892024-03-08T07:58:48.917+01:00The rapidly diminishing thoughts of an old Welshman living in MilanoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1138882303144278562006-02-02T22:47:00.000+01:002006-12-14T06:26:02.626+01:00

"Don't worry Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here" They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is the picture, albeit in cartoon form, that has caused so much anger and hatred since it was first published by the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, as a part of a series of 12 published last September.The issue that is being highlighted is simply that of the fredom of the press to report

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1138613317864926992006-01-30T10:20:00.002+01:002006-02-02T14:00:22.103+01:00

Well, well, well. I turn my back for a couple of weeks and find that our esteemed Prime Minister, Dott. Silvio Berlusconi, has announced that he is renouncing sex until after the Italian elections in April. What a strange thing to say. He is married and he is a Catholic. Yes, I know he is old, but men have sired children far, far older than he is. Just. However, the fact remains that he has

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1135347288514881842005-12-23T14:43:00.003+01:002005-12-25T14:01:02.310+01:00

It is traditional here in Italy to display a "Presepio" - usually a highly intricate representation of the birth of Christ in an even more intricate setting showing every type of scene that your space/budget will allow. The best (and most expensive) figures have long come from Napoli and the photo above shows a Presepio made in the 18th century for the King of Napoli, Carlo III. With this, I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1135010567808796922005-12-19T17:40:00.000+01:002005-12-20T15:08:48.996+01:00

The Bank of Italy Governor, Antonio Fazio, has finally resigned. The sound of relieved breathing can be heard everywhere in Italy at the news of the departure of a man that has brought back memories of the infamous "Clean Hands" campaign that started in 1992, in Milano, just around the corner from where I have been living for the past 3 years, the Pio Trivulzio Old People's Home.Thank goodness.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1134570807320903762005-12-14T15:17:00.000+01:002005-12-15T12:00:10.886+01:00

Events are finally starting to catch up with the current head of the Bank of Italy, Antonio Fazio.You may recall that I wrote about his antics a couple of months ago, when the whole sorry saga hit the world press. He was accused of misusing his position as the Governor of the Bank of Italy in order to support his friend and father of his daughter’s fiancé, Gianpiero Fiorani.The latest events to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1134479746316078702005-12-13T14:15:00.000+01:002005-12-14T14:42:09.050+01:00

With the new “Ex-Cirielli” law now passed through the Senate, becoming one of the ever-increasing list of Italian laws, there are a couple of surprising dissident voices. As I wrote back in October, the law, first drafted by Edmondo Cirielli also known as the "Save Previti" law and the "Cerami Bill", was seen as a means to streamline Italy’s megalithic legal system. It also seemed custom-made to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1133858065974221602005-12-06T09:24:00.002+01:002005-12-12T16:43:56.050+01:00

Hot on the heels of the US Secretary of State, Condaleeza Rice, telling the people of Europe that we should do what we are told, or else - we have another example of state violence in Italy. Last night, in the Val di Susa, the demonstrations by the local people against the High Speed Train (TAV) project erupted into a bloody clash with the police resulting in at least 6 injuries.Now, you may

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1133782072929629112005-12-05T12:18:00.000+01:002005-12-05T17:14:53.633+01:00

In a strange turn of events the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is expected* to issue a warning to Europe today about the illegal US prison camps in Eastern Europe, including Kosova, being run for the interrogation and internment of people the US administration might consider a threat. I wrote a while ago about a US base on the island of Diego Garcia, that was being used as a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1133535536104437762005-12-02T15:51:00.000+01:002006-04-08T21:18:10.873+02:00

I am assured that this memo is real - allegedly (clicking the logo should open a copy of the actual memo). Apologies for the language if you are an Italian speaker and are feeling insulted. No offence meant, I'm sure._____________________________________ MEMO to all the Staff: It has been brought to our attention by several officials visiting our establishment in Rome that offensive language is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1132922019000504902005-11-25T13:26:00.000+01:002005-12-02T12:09:19.480+01:00

Christmas is coming! I can feel it in the air and the TV advertising jingles. But, Hark! What is that I hear now? Yes, that’s right. It’s the sound of the world famous “Singing Prime Minister”, trying to launch his Christmas CD of “Lurve” songs in good time the elections next year. This is not Singing Silvio’s first foray into the world of record production though, he actually had another CD

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1132837534815800732005-11-24T13:51:00.002+01:002005-11-24T15:28:51.313+01:00

Seeing a report published this week about the increasing numbers of people resorting to plastic surgery, I noticed that men are now a growing user of the services of the plastic surgeon. The Prime Minister himself, Silvio Berlusconi, happily admitted to having undergone the surgeons knife to try and roll back the years (or at least, the baggy skin around his ageing eyes) a couple of years ago. He

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1132153963370712272005-11-17T23:02:00.000+01:002005-11-17T12:54:27.090+01:00

Tim Bell - The GuardianBack in the UK, Prime Minister Tony Blair is still having a pretty tough time of things at the moment. With the bill for the introduction of ID cards now before the House of Lords in the UK, it is looking likely that he will suffer even more embarrassment before the month is out.What is the fuss about ID cards though? In most of Europe ID cards are a normal requirement and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1132051079582413292005-11-15T11:30:00.000+01:002005-11-24T15:03:56.470+01:00

I resurrected a bit of my youth over the weekend when I went to see Bob Dylan in concert at the Assago Forum on the outskirts of Milano. Quite a memory jogger it was too. I have seen Bob Dylan once before in concert in the UK – in 1969. A lifetime ago, or so it seems now. He was good then. Very good. On Saturday, however he was fantastic. I have been listening to Bob Dylan since the early 1960s,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1131627574894061062005-11-10T13:59:00.000+01:002005-11-10T15:36:54.620+01:00

Still keeping on the subject of what we do with our toxic waste, I see that the proposed new EU bill regarding chemicals use in the EU, REACH, is progressing well at the moment. It is a very watered down version of the original proposal by Guido Sacconi, but surely a step in the right direction. I briefly touched on the problem of toxic waste disposal yesterday, with the discovery that the USA

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1131531184470118582005-11-09T11:26:00.000+01:002005-11-09T15:40:17.223+01:00

It always amazes me to find how reading one newspaper article can lead into so many different areas. A case in point was my reading a piece in the New Zealand Herald about the dumping of chemical weapons by the USA off the coast of New Zealand after WW2. An amazing story when one considers how much fuss the USA have been making over supposed chemical weapons dumping in Iraq recently.The article

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1130069931702140092005-10-23T21:30:00.000+02:002005-10-24T10:03:58.156+02:00

With the screening of “Rockpolitik” last Thursday night on RAI 1, one of the state run TV channels, a new paragraph was written in the political history of Italy. The show itself was interesting enough, being a mixture of music, comedy skits and political satire – very much the kind of TV programme that we are used to seeing in the rest of Europe – “That Was The Week That Was”, for example, back

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1129888944447409122005-10-21T16:15:00.000+02:002005-10-21T18:41:34.836+02:00

The Messina Bridge as it will look from Sicily. I have been looking recently for more information about the new Messina Bridge as the contract has just been awarded to the civil engineering firm, Impregilo SpA . As so often is the case here, nothing is quite as it seems, so this will be another rather long item. Sorry about that.The bridge itself is relatively straightforward to describe. It will

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1129842919707107062005-10-20T23:15:00.000+02:002005-10-21T13:50:51.093+02:00

Adriano Celentano - a true Italian.I would like to just say how much I was moved tonight whilst watching a brand new TV show on Rai uno, RockPolitik (in fact, I am still watching it as I type). It was as though I was observing a beautiful woman shedding the sackcloth and ashes she had been forced to wear for the past few years. Bravi Italiani! I feel privileged to have witnessed the shedding of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1129664034881085132005-10-18T18:00:00.000+02:002005-10-19T10:06:27.076+02:00

Romano Prodi in Wales There have been several issues of interest happening here in Italy over the past week. The week started with an election. It was actually a referendum for the public to elect the leader of the centre-left coalition of the many left-wing, liberal and eco-sensitive political groupings and parties in order to fight – and most likely win at this moment in time - the coming

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1129281160936424142005-10-14T12:00:00.000+02:002005-10-14T12:20:12.846+02:00

The Berlusconi Contract - Click image to read it.With elections in Italy looming on the near horizon, it is scarcely a surprise to find yet another political fiasco brewing in the hazy world of Berlusconi politics. This time, he is attempting to steam-roller a change in the voting system just 6 months before the next set of elections. There is no secret that the electoral system is in dire need

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1129051245723432952005-10-11T18:00:00.000+02:002005-10-12T11:43:00.456+02:00

Cesare Previti enjoying a happy moment during his trial in Milano.Our dear friend Silvio Berlusconi is, if nothing else, a very loyal man. He looks after his friends and family in the true style of a gentleman Man of Honour. The most recent development in the long saga of how the Prime Minister of Italy runs the country he is currently “in charge of” is in the protection of one of his oldest,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1128696183624771822005-10-07T09:00:00.000+02:002005-10-08T15:54:29.673+02:00

Browsing through the various news feeds the other day, I came across an item about the new EU website aimed at encouraging the various mobile telephone service suppliers across Europe to take a little look at their pricing strategies. Living, as I do, in one of Europe’s most expensive countries with regard telephone services (as with electricity – but that’s another story) I was immediately

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1128503420594558662005-10-05T09:00:00.000+02:002005-10-05T12:31:16.093+02:00

Please, please, please... Whilst the Fazio affair trundles on and on still, the Prime Minister is continuing in his quest for world (or at least Italian) domination. I’m sure that the coming elections have nothing at all to do with the recent appointment of his 39 year old daughter, Marina Berlusconi, to the elevated seat of President at the helm of the family flagship company that still

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1127731206774351382005-09-26T21:30:00.000+02:002005-10-05T12:23:06.523+02:00

A sorry tale of intrigue, political shenanigans and power play is nothing new here in Italy. It is what helps keep the interest levels up and the conversations in bars and cafès alive across the country every day.The latest tale to hit the world media has been brewing for quite some time though. Antonio Fazio, the erstwhile governor of the Bank of Italy since taking over the reins from now

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7244789.post-1123771857287620892005-08-11T16:00:00.000+02:002005-08-28T13:38:29.230+02:00

On second thoughts, please don’t. There has been a very strange craft making its slow but steady voyage to the centre of Milan recently. A submarine. Not one of those cute little one-man ones that you can see so often in diver training centres all around the Mediterranean, but a dirty great big one. A genuine warship that cruised around the coasts of the Mediterranean looking for suitable prey

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1